Can I Go Now? by Brian Kellow

by Brian Kellow

A lively and colorful biography of Hollywood’s first superagent—one of the most outrageous showbiz characters of the 1960s and 1970s whose clients included Barbra Streisand, Ryan O’Neal, Faye Dunaway, Michael Caine, and Candice BergenBefore Sue Mengers hit the scene in the mid-1960s, talent agents remained quietly in the background. But staying in the background was not possible for Mengers. Irrepressible and loaded with chutzpah, she became a driving force of Creative Management Associates (which later became ICM) handling the era’s preeminent stars.A true original with a gift for making the biggest stars in Hollywood listen to hard truths about their careers and personal lives, Mengers became a force to be reckoned with. Her salesmanship never stopped. In 1979, she was on a plane that was commandeered by a hijacker, who wanted Charlton Heston to deliver a message on television. Mengers was incensed, wondering why the hijacker wanted Heston, when she could get him Barbra Streisand.Acclaimed biographer Brian Kellow spins an irresistible tale, exhaustively researched and filled with anecdotes about and interviews more than two hundred show-business luminaries. A riveting biography of a powerful woman that charts show business as it evolved from New York City in the 1950s through Hollywood in the early 1980s, Can I Go Now? will mesmerize anyone who loves cinema’s most fruitful period.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Film, Pop Culture, Memoir, Media Tie In

Hardcover

First published September 8, 2015

Reviews

[Antigone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sue Mengers is a notable figure in Hollywood history, and this is largely due to a professional life filled with unintentional trail-blazing. She was not a feminist or a proponent of equal rights, nor did she possess the least interest in altering the Industry's misogynistic status quo. Filmmaking and talent representation were a man's game when she threw in her chips, and they'd be a man's game when she cashed out. Mengers understood this. So she learned the rules, placed her bets, and made off with the pot more often than not using tactics familiar to all the heavy hitters who surrounded her. She forced Hollywood to deal her in. Then she forced it to do business with her.

Brassy and bold - Sue Mengers was a player you couldn't ignore. She didn't take no for an answer, aggressively pursuing projects for her illustrious stable of clients in an era when "the deal" made the difference between celebrity and superstardom; what you earned versus what you got to keep; whether you'd continue to be part of the future or begin that long descent into the past. Barbra Streisand. Gene Hackman. Ryan O'Neal. Faye Dunaway. Michael Caine. Candice Bergan. Ali McGraw. These and many more placed their careers in her hands, essentially because this woman was, first and foremost, an actor's advocate.

Her work ethic was fierce. Unlike many agents who left the business behind at 5 p.m., Sue was always thinking about her job. Evenings and weekends were spent reading piles of scripts, trying to assess them to determine if there was a good part for one of her clients. She was always on the lookout for a role that was appealingly different from the sorts of parts they usually played, because she knew that, John Wayne notwithstanding, repetition could spell death in a movie star's career. And she was forever worrying about her client's financial status, trying to boost their salaries so they would be a little further down the road to personal security. It was the dawn of the young Hollywood set of the 1970s, and she knew that she was in a position to make a crucial difference in their lives - a responsibility she took with the utmost seriousness. "She didn't care who she stepped on if it meant a job for one of her actors," said veteran Hollywood gossip columnist Rona Barrett. "She put the actor first. She never seemed to remember that actors come and go for the most part, and the people who run the business stay forever."

As biographies go, it's a solid one. The author is experienced in this arena and hits all the salient points nicely. I did feel sorry for him, though. As verbose as Mengers may have been, she was absolutely silent on the subject of her clients' private lives and peccadillos. The woman did not dish; she considered it part and parcel of the agent-client agreement, leaving Kellow with very little spice to flavor his text. The work suffers for it in terms of anecdotal insight...but this, as Sue Mengers would have been the first to remind us, was simply the cost of doing business.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only an OK book for me. This recounting of the life of Hollywoods first Superagent and female power broker is a tale worth telling but after reading this I felt like I was left with very little. The book is comprised of anecdotal stories and celebrity gossip by both her clients and workmates. Neither of whom are usually good sources. Sue Mengers did not sit down for an interview with the writer nor leave any written record of her life and it shows. The image we are left with is of muddled and contrary. She showed determination in her career but no real ambition to move to the highest levels of Hollywood. She adored Streisand but cut off their friendship as soon as their professional relationship ended. She seems to be a person who found their niche in life and was happy to stay there which is a good thing in itself but not probably not worthy of a book. There are some entertaining dinner table stories in here about deals made and stars coddled but nothing of any real value. Sue Mengers was probably a more interesting and driven person than portrayed in this book and she was right in the middle of things during Hollywood's last golden age this book falls far short of telling that story.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this colorful fascinating look at the life and times of one of Hollywood's legendary female agent Sue Mengers (1938-2011), biographer Brian Kellow introduces her as a "self-panicker", meaning she was able to take herself less seriously, her behavior funniest to herself. Indeed, Mengers could be comical and charming especially when advocating for her clients. Refusing to conform to social graces, Sue was known for her direct, abrupt and honest opinion, rudely dismissive, she talked about people behind their backs, mothered her clients with unsolicited advice, yet she was enormously successful.

Born in Hamburg, to Jewish-German parents, the family arrived in the US and settled in Utica when Sue was five years old. Taking elocution lessons as a child, she never forgot the cruelty of others who thought themselves better. Ruth, her mother was highly critical, her father largely unsuccessful ended his life in the Times Square Hotel (1946). Ruth was very disappointed in her daughter for not following the traditional path to become a wife and mother. After Sue became famous, she refused to discuss her memories of Germany or her younger years when interviewed.

One thing was certain, Sue had no intentions of remaining in the secretarial pool at William Morris long, though she was known as the "everything girl". Sue dated famous lyricist songwriter Billy Rose(1899-1966), requesting his driver pick her up in front of a posh hotel, projecting herself to be a person of prestige and importance she hadn't acquired. Korman Associates hired Sue (1963-1966) convinced that she would be an asset to the company. By that time, she had revived the career of Anthony Perkins, befriended Barbra Streisand and Eliot Gould, in representing both actors, she developed a lifelong appreciation for Streisand's talent. Other famous clients and friends: Robert Evan's and Ali McGraw. Sue didn't work with new or unproven actors, only those she considered "A-List" and established talent, pushing her actor's towards the challenges of higher success in the hit and miss hit film industry.

By the 1970's Sue was at the peak of her career, befriending and managing a large group of famous actors and actresses: Barbra Streisand, John Travolta, Robin Williams, Ryan O'Neal, Marlo Thomas, Ali McGraw, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, Candice Bergen. Jack Nicholson and David Geffen were good friends that she never represented. Sue hosted popular home parties attended by the rich and famous, she followed all the latest in celebrity culture. "The Last of Shelia" (1973) starring Dyan Cannon was based on her life.
In 1973 she married John Claude Tramont (1934-1996), a handsome Belgian film director, who enjoyed culture, travel and discussing international politics. Sue had never had a lasting serious relationship until she married, and was known to openly and publically argue with her husband. The Tramont's bought an apartment in Paris, where John Claude lived for several months out of the year, enjoying the after hours clubs. Before he died of cancer, he was upset that he wouldn't outlive his wife, assuming she would die first from her poor eating habits, lack of exercise, and excessive cigarette and marijuana smoking.

In 1986 Sue announced her retirement, she was 54. The Tramont's celebrated on Fire Island. Eventually growing restless, she returned for a limited 3 year contract at William Morris, which wasn't renewed. Sue felt like a failure: the majority of clients she managed in the past had all moved on, the film industry had changed greatly due to soaring production and advertising costs, higher requirements and emphasis were on profit, with little room for the hit and miss risk that made the film industry thrive in the past. In her later years, Sue scanned the papers and media to see who was worthy to attend her parties: celebrities were younger who visited her, Jennifer Aniston, Matt Dillon, Tina Fey, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Mendez.
Toward the last years of her life, Sue took multiple medications for various health issues, including mild strokes, and required a shunt for hydrocephalus. Following Sue's wishes her personal assistant April Shultz destroyed her business archive. Boaty Boatwright, Sue's closest friend of 6 decades remained with her until the end of her life. Boatwright supported Kellow's work and effort as Sue's biographer, with a long list of other friends and celebrities who cooperated.
Kellow is an award winning bestselling author, his work featured in several notable publications. He is also the biographer of "Pauline Kael: A Life In The Dark" (2011) and "Ethel Merman: A Life" (2007), and lives in NYC.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An entertaining book about a woman who comes across as quite unlikeable but obviously she must have had redeeming qualities. Lots and lots of Hollywood info here.

[Chris Donaldson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to know the ins and outs of one of the most powerful people in Hollywood in the 1970's, this is a good read. It's a story about audacity, shooting for the moon, and achieving great heights. If you love Hollywood (like I do) the book captures in part an era that revolutionized film-making.

Where it falls short is the book tends to gloss over relationships. What's up with Jack Nicholson being such a devotee until her death? Or Tina Fey thanking her at the Academy Awards, though she was never her agent? This sort of depth isn't explored, and instead becomes sort of a list of 'who's who' in Hollywood - lots of breadth but not much depth.

Which is an interesting metaphor for Sue Mengers herself. She never seemed happy with who she was, and never seemed to explore the deeper meaning of who she was and life in general. It's sad when you reach the level she did, but can't be satisfied with those accomplishments... and her unwinding during the 2000's is certainly not a death any of us want to imitate. But again, maybe there's a lesson in that for us all. She was colorful and bold and broke barriers - and we should all aspire to do that.

[Kirsti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad Mengers was able to overcome sexism to achieve success and fame, but it's hard to sympathize with someone who alternates between tantrums and baby talk. Unless the person is an actual two-year-old, I mean.
Mengers wanted only A-list stars, which makes sense financially. But she never really put any effort into finding new talent to develop. So she missed out on the early careers (or in many cases the entire careers) of Barbra Streisand, Henry Winkler, Sally Field, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and many others. Eventually her A-listers either left her when they sensed weakness, made too many flops, or simply aged out of their prime positions.

[Lee Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much the reason half the movies of the 70s were what they were can be attributed to this woman. Agent at one time or another to Ali McGraw, Sidney Lumet, Candice Bergen, Ryan O'Neal, Peter Bogdanovich, and, most importantly, Barbra Streisand, Sue Mengers wheeled and dealed her clients separately and together into the seminal films of the times. I found myself loving and hating her, sometimes on the same page--when she screwed up, she baby talked about herself in the third person (ugh!); but she spent most of her life wearing caftans, lying in bed watching television, and getting high (fun!). A page-turning look at one of my favorite periods in movie history.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

If anyone is surprised that Sue Mengers wasn't an extremely nice person, then they must not know what it's like to work around Hollywood people. They're douchebags. This book was really interesting but you do need to know your 70's movies to understand a lot of the book. Its a lot of shop talk and that's ok. Sue was a total character and it was easy to see why they did a play about her just 2 years after her death. ('I'll Eat You Last', read it, it's worth the 45 mins it will take you to read the play.)

[John Behle · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good example for me of a two-star book. This bio of Sue Mengers is a recounting of her Hollywood agent ("superagent" in this case) life. The glory run of the '70's and '80's are the highlight.

Lots of name dropping, profanity and breathless celebrity gossip from decades ago, but it was OK.

I was glad when I finished, closing the back cover with a "whew."

[Chris Roberts · Rating 1 out of 5]

Burning drive makes for a cinema maverick,
Sue smiles, buries the knife, turns another trick,
let them know who earthquakes Hollywood & Vine,
get into the rhythm, booze, cock and fine dine,
back lot hustle, flat on her back, sign here and here,
yes, you will be a star, now fetch my cigarettes, that's a good dear.

Chris Roberts

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A three-star rating because it was readable and entertaining. But the woman was a train-wreck, someone I wouldn't want to know personally, yet she inspired a number of loyal friendships, despite a sense of entitlement grandiose enough to have encircled the earth. Ugh.

[Helaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to get a peek into the Hollywood lifestyle as there was lots of name dropping. Sue had an amazing run as an agent but she really never dealt with her demons. She was a sad caricature of herself by the end of the book.

[Lenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent bio of a little pisher.

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This woman was fascinating and horrible and a trailblazer. Her life would make a good movie for sure.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A crude pothead who fancied herself a sexpot. A wannabe actress who became an agent against the odds in the theatrical world of postwar New York. THE Hollywood agent who threw parties where a middling actor could get casually cast in a film that would make them the biggest star in Hollywood. A superagent who on the one hand only cared about getting her client the biggest paycheck yet excelled during the personal cinema of New Hollywood and fell out of touch during the blockbuster era. A woman who stood among the male iconoclasts of the “Raging Bulls, Easy Riders” era.

She started off angry, driven, and wowed by glamour. She was great at improvising, like when she started dating a much older Billy Rose and didn’t want him to know she was a secretary so she posed as an agent and when he called her agency, she did a variety of voices as she, a secretary, pretended to transfer calls to the agent he thought he was calling. She enjoyed being part of the theatrical world, partying with young Stephen Sondheim, Mary Rodgers, and noticing a 19 year old Barbra Streisand on stage. A few years later she was handling Barbra for CMA during the filming of “Funny Girl” by which time they were already very close. Sue had been sent to Los Angeles when CMA decided the bulk of their operations would be on the West Coast, and as a woman she would be a good hostess. She immediately took to the culture and became the Sue Mengers we now know. Her parties were legendary for the high level of stardom in attendance and the deals that could be made and roles that could be cast there. One was also expected to have a respect for the privacy of those in attendance, to not tell tales out of school. She liked to put together unusual assortments of guests and figured that these parties helped with later deals, as it must be harder to say no to her after having been a guest in her home.

As the 1970s became the 1980s Sue struggled to keep her clients relevant. She discouraged TV or Broadway work when their films were getting smaller or offers less frequent. She was focused on getting clients big paychecks for movies. New Hollywood was over and films needed guarantees of greater profit margins and could no longer build on word of mouth like a decade earlier.

Sue could be a good friend to her clients, even ones who were not ambitious like Tuesday Weld, to whom Sue would occasionally have to remember to throw a bone. Weld was a stark contrast to Streisand who we know was the most ambitious. The Mengers/Streisand relationship is worthy of a limited TV series. Sue often acted like a big sis, telling Barbra what she should and should not do. Famously she discouraged “Yentl” which in many way ended their business relationship. When Barbra told Sue that she would no longer be her agent, Sue told her that she would no longer be her friend. Sue could at least admit when she was wrong, ultimately congratulating Streisand on “Yentl”. They eventually patched things up but were never super close again. Sue had a tendency to fight with those she loved most.

[Kimberley Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re into tales of Hollywood’s inner circles this will be right up your alley. On a deeper & more specific note, it details the life & adventures of one of Hollywood’s greatest talent agents, Sue Mengers. Never measuring up as child, her only true goal was to gain her mother’s approval.. No amount of success would mend their relationship.
Her client list read like a Who’s Who of Tinsel Town. She was charming and blunt, generous yet a spend thrift, your best cheerleader and toughest critic. If you were part of her inner circle, she was fiercely loyal, but could freeze you out just as quick. Her ability to hold a grudge rivaled that of Truman Capote. Her highs were as high as her lows were low. Today, she’d most definitely be classified as bi-polar.
Her friends and clients were loyal until they no could no longer tolerate her. After her retirement, she became known for her dinner parties, pouring over the guest list’s like the most complex chemistry problem until she had just the right formula. She loved to laugh and her irreverence could make the most liberal blush. Being invited to her dinner parties was the golden ticket of the 80’s and 90’s. Not even death could keep her guests from declining, lest they be black listed.
Sadly, as she outlived her husband and many friends she fell deeper and deeper into depression spending her days watching tv, smoking marijuana and gorging herself on junk food. She seldom wanted to go out in public, but became upset when her friends didn’t call daily and comply to her every whim. Her health gradually declined and her refusal to stop smoking and not exercise led to bouts of infections culminating in recurring pneumonia which eventually took her life.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay rating more to do with subject matter than the book itself which was fast paced and very informative.

Sue was.....a depressing person. Interested in fame, fame and more fame. And since she couldn't be famous herself, she became an agent. Being an agent meant she could control others who are famous, and be around famous people who she called her "twinklies."

Her mother, who was highly critical of her growing up, seemed to bring out a hatred in herself (pot use, over eating, control issues in others) and Sue never sought therapy or worked on herself to deal with this issue and grow up.

Not having her own children, because she was addicted to Hollywood and fame, she became an embittered old woman whose friends mostly kept their ties loosely at the end. Some out of loyalty, others because they felt sorry for her.

Not everyone ends well and Sue did not.

The book offers a fascinating view of what it was like to be a woman in Hollywood and to make the power climb. Lots of stories about the stars of her era. She definitely made her mark as one of the first power woman agents in Hollywood.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a force that woman was! She certainly changed the salary game for actors, she was correct in stating, “Why should the producers make all the money?”

Her early life was challenging and cruel. It’s sad her mother was so critical and sadder neither could forgive and reconcile. At least she used the frustration to drive herself to succeed. I admired her ambition. Some of her methods were questionable, but she seemed to be more aboveboard than her peers. She also blamed herself for “not closing the deal”.

The little kiddy voice was annoying; I’m not sure how people could stand that. I do have to remind myself show people have a different ego system. She apparently had her own peculiarities to deal with as well.

She grew up idolizing the big studio stars and the glamour they projected. At the top of her game she reached her goal of mixing in with the “A” list.

As the direction of the movies shifted to action driven and the star became special effects, her career wound down. She still maintained an influential status, but wasn’t the major player. She didn’t understand the change in entertainment. She fell out of step.

So she had dinners to bring her “twinkle-lees” together. Thinking about it, every era has someone (or a select few) who seems to know how to attract and mix the right creative talents. A few that come to mind, the Algonquin round table in NY, Gertrude Stein’s atelier in Paris, Mama Cass was said to have brought many musicians together in her time.

Sue had to be pretty special because she did have loyal friends to the end, as well as having the respect of her industry. I now have to check out old Vanity Fair articles and watch a few movies that are loosely based on Sue Mengers!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book when I began working at Sue Mengers' former workplace (there is no better place to brag about my ~industry connections~ than in a review of this book because it is TRULY what Mengers would have done), and found myself enraptured by the same things that captivated her: the proximity to celebrity. If you're someone who likes celebrity biographies and memoirs, my feeling is you have a 50/50 chance of liking this book. Mengers was a businesswoman who was attracted to creative talent as a business venture, not a creative one. Unlike most showbiz biographies, this book has little to do with the creative process or the specifics of craft. This is a book about what celebrities make, but rather what makes celebrities. If this is something that interests you (and god knows it interests me), you'll get a generally compelling journey through iconic eras (hardscrabble immigrant history, Mad Men NYC, decadent 70s Hollywood), and lots of exhaustively source gossip.

[Cliff Morrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This drably written book paraphrases a great deal of material from earlier sources, among them Robert Evans' and Ali MacGraw's autobiographies. Here and there Kellow adds interesting information, but did we really need to know such details as that Trini Lopez thought Sue Mengers was adept at a particular sex act? Does anyone except Trini Lopez care? I doubt it. Even so, "Can I Go Now?" is a slightly better book than Kellow's earlier biography of Pauline Kael.

[marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen, I don't know what more you would want from a bio about a 1970's character, but this was juicy, funny, and really delved into a complicated, ballsy, unique lady. She was unabashedly herself, and you can't blame Candace Bergen and Mike Nichols for dropping her as an agent. But when I'm asked that question of, who would I want, living or dead to invite to dinner, uh, I think I have my answer...

[Nancy Mumpton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent biography by an excellent biographer! It was particularly interesting to me because I was familiar with most of the people talked about and interviewed in the book. I never knew very much about Sue Mengers other than recognizing she was a big time agent. She lived in a very vibrant time in the movie business and I learned a lot!

[Eric Zerbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling read about a larger-than-life personality from Hollywood‘s 1970s heyday. Kellow’s book fills a void and sets the record straight on Sue Mengers, with tons of quotes from dozens of interviews and from “Baby Sue” herself. My only nitpick is the book’s dense typesetting; it’s under 300 pages, but if published today, it would easily be 350 pages or more. Still, a highly satisfying read.

[Fran Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never write reviews....however as a child born in the mid 1950's this book was a fascinating read. I kept my phone beside my book as I read in order to look up those whom I didn't know. It was so interesting to read about all the prominent actors and people of these years. Who knew? Sue was quite a character who led a an incredible yet sad life. Truly was a trip down memory lane.

[Nola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I expected more in this story and I didn't get it. Doesn't really divulge much of the person except that she was loud, gruff and not easy to work with. It didn't delve much into her life really.

[CCN · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep look into packaging of the most iconic projects from the 60’s to late 90’s. Sue is a divisive force of nature. It was a lullaby to listen to her quips and get a glimpse of this era of Hollywood.

[Lisa Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rise and fall of ruthless Hollywood agent. What you’d expect. Vulgarity and backstabbing.

[Susan Keiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the highs and lows of Sue Mengers' life and career, peppered with a lot of great anecdotes and a metric fuckton of stories about Barbra Streisand.

[Wyatt · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sort of pointless book about a pretty superficial person’s frivolous life that’s not quite dishy, witty, or well-written enough to justify a read. Would love to go to one of Sue’s dinner parties though.

[Reader]

New York Public Library